For San Antonio Spurs fans, the one comforting thing about star guard Manu Ginobili's hamstring injury is that, at the very least, they’ve gotten used to this. April comes around, the Spurs are at or near the top of the Western Conference standings and—right on cue—Ginobili gets hurt. This time around, it's an issue that figures to keep Ginobili out for three or four weeks, enough to carry over into the start of the postseason.

Last year, Ginobili managed to get through the month without much incident, his worst incident coming in a facial collision with Tyreke Evans that merely left him bruised. But that ended a string of four straight years with some sort of injury that impacted him in the playoffs.

Another April means another injury for Manu Ginobili, but the Spurs can survive. (AP Photo)

In 2011, Ginobili hyperextended his right elbow on the final day of the season, causing him to miss the opener of the Spurs’ series against Memphis, and contributing the eighth-seeded Grizzlies' first-round upset. In 2010, Ginobili broke his nose when he was accidentally whacked by Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki in the first round. Ginobili played through that injury, but he shot poorly (41.4 percent) and the Spurs were ousted by Phoenix in the second round.

In 2009, a stress fracture in his right leg got progressively worse, then stopped him from playing at all in the postseason. That year, the third-seeded Spurs were knocked off in the first round by the Mavericks. In 2008, Ginobili suffered a left ankle injury in the first round against the Suns, but managed to play 17 playoff games with the pain. The Spurs lost to the Lakers that year in the conference finals.

This injury, though, is different. In the past, being without Ginobili—or having him at less than 100 percent—meant certain playoff doom for the Spurs. But Ginobili is now 35 years old, and at no point in his 10 years in San Antonio have the Spurs been less reliant on his production. San Antonio figures to wrap up the year with six players averaging double-digit scoring (Tony Parker and Tim Duncan in addition to Ginobili, obviously, but Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter, too). They haven't had that many in Ginobili’s tenure.

In fact, if Leonard averages 13.5 points in his last eight games, Ginobili won’t rank among the Spurs’ top three scorers for the first time in his career.

Of course, that’s not to say the Spurs don’t need Ginobili—the team’s second unit feeds off his energy and veteran leadership, and the play of their reserves figures to be one of San Antonio’s great advantages in the postseason. As coach Gregg Popovich told reporters, according to Mysa.com, “It’s a huge blow for us because he’s the guy that allows our second team to do what they’ve been doing all year long. It’s a huge loss for that group, and in game situations, it’s a tough one because he’s one of two guys, he and Tony, are the creators who make things happen for everybody else on the court. It’s an unfortunate loss at this point of the season.”

But being without Ginobili hurts the Spurs less now than it has in the past. Where Ginobili’s injuries directly led to first-round losses in ’06 and ’11, if the Spurs were without him now against the Rockets, Lakers, Jazz or Mavericks, they wouldn’t be at much risk to lose in the first round. They’ve got more players who can fill in for him.

For San Antonio to win a championship, no question, a healthy Ginobili is a must. The Spurs would have trouble winning a second-round series against the likes of the Nuggets, Clippers or Grizzlies without him, not to mention a potential conference finals matchup against the Thunder. But with a deeper roster of players who can fill in for him, the Ginobili-less disappointments that have marked recent playoff history for the Spurs won’t be repeated this year.